Rum & Honey Glazed Salmon with Grilled Asparagus

Rum & Honey Glazed Salmon with Grilled Asparagus
with Cucumber Dill Dipping Sauce

I love this recipe and get great reviews on it. The combination of Salmon and Asparagus is like bread and butter. The salmon is sweet and served with a cucumber dill which compliments its sweetness well. It's origin is derived from the restaurant that I previously worked in. Though the recipe was never exact, I have made my own modifications to it which I believe to be delicious.


4 Salmon fillets (4-5 oz each) - skin removed
1 tsp of fresh grated Ginger
1 1/2 Lemons squeezed (save the other half  for the dipping sauce)
1 tsp of Salt
3/4 cup of "Dark" Rum
1/3 cup of Honey
2 tbsp of Canola or Vegetable oil separated
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp black pepper

To remove the skin on the salmon, use a very sharp chefs knife to split the skin and flesh at the tail end (the smaller end). Once the blade is between the two, pull the skin taught while slowly and gently working the knife in the away direction. Keep the blade flat and against the skin so that you don't destroy the flesh. You may have to occasionally grab the skin further up, closer to your knife blade in order to keep it taught. The skin should look similar to what is depicted in the pictures below, and slightly transparent (if you did a good job). Rinse fillets. Cut even fillets WITH the grain of the fish, about 2 - 2 1/2" wide.

Mix all ingredients, except for 1 tsp pf the oil together in a flat bottom bowl. Place salmon fillets in bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours, turning the fillets every so often to coat the sides. In the meantime, prepare the cucumber dill dipping sauce.

Cucumber Dill Dipping Sauce Ingredients:

3/4 Cup Fat Free Sour Cream
1 Tbsp of Fresh Dill Weed, finely chopped
1 Cucumber, seeded and chopped finely
1/2 Lemon squeezed
1/2 tsp of ground mustard
1/2 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate.

When Salmon is ready, add the tbsp of oil to a hot, oven safe skillet over med-high heat. When the oil begins to smoke, add the fillets, skin side up (or where the skin used to be), 2 at a time so that you don't overcrowd the pan (overcrowding will cause the salmon to steam). Let salmon cook for 3 minutes on the first side. Then using tongs, flip the salmon (skin side down) and place the skillet in a preheated oven at 400 degrees. Let sit for 3 minutes, pull salmon back out and lay a strip of honey down the center of each filet. You can add a sprig of dill weed on top if you want (optional). Place back in oven, under a broiler for 30-45 seconds and remove.

I used the ends of the cucumber to hold the dipping sauce. Simply cut them off and hollow them out, using a round spoon. Cut a very small flat piece on the bottom so that they stand up.

Optional : You can take the remainder of the marinade and heat it on a separate skillet, to drizzle over the fillets when they are finished.

Enjoy!